Apple Books
November 2021 — Designer
Graphic Design · Email Design · Motion Concepting · Digital Marketing · Organic Social · Cross-Functional Collaboration
Helping Find the One.
Apple Books was challenging the subscription model — and needed a campaign that invited casual listeners in without asking for a commitment. The answer: Find the One. It just takes that one audiobook to move you.
Embedded with Apple's Marcom LA Design Studio for five months, I contributed to the creative work that brought this campaign to life across multiple channels. Pre-roll video. High-impact digital. Paid and owned social. Partner placements. Email design built module by module. Social assets handed off to publishers and authors. The brief was to get people lost in audiobooks without the pressure of a subscription — and the work had to hold up at Apple's standard on every surface it touched.
Email Design
Built to Convert, Module by Module
I led creative concepting for a net-new Audiobooks email design system. Rather than a single template, I designed a modular architecture where each section had a specific job to do.
Subject lines were written to earn the open. The hero module introduced pre-order titles across three concept directions: general, genre-focused, and author-focused. An explore module kept readers in the ecosystem by surfacing similar titles. The device module showcased cross-platform listening to drive adoption across Apple's hardware lineup. A similarity module closed the email by introducing authors adjacent to the promoted title — pulling readers deeper into the store.
I presented motion samples to the wider creative team, gathered feedback, and refined the system through multiple rounds of review before final delivery.
Partner Social
Designed for Their Channels. Built on Our System.
I designed a full suite of bespoke social assets for key promoted Audiobooks titles — each one tailored to its title while staying within a cohesive design system. Finished assets were delivered directly to publishers and authors for use across their own platforms.
The challenge was making every asset feel specific to its book while keeping the Apple Books brand presence consistent at scale. Across more than 20 titles, the grid held.
Owned social
I Pitched It. It Made the Brief.
The Instagram Stories animations weren't part of the original scope. I concepted them, pitched them internally, and developed them to the point where creative leadership added them to the final delivery brief.
That process required more than design instinct. It meant understanding what the Apple Books audience responded to on social, advocating for a format that hadn't been greenlit, and collaborating across creatives, in-house motion designers, and leadership to get the concept production-ready. Seeing something go from your idea to an official campaign deliverable — at Apple — is a specific kind of proof.
“His ability to think strategically and design effortlessly all while remaining positive and upbeat has left a lasting impression on the Creative Marketing department.”
“Alex is AMAZING, and one of my favorite colleagues of all time. It’s rare that you find someone who is creative, talented, and also always willing and able to go above and beyond.”
“I don’t think, even if I wanted to, I could choose only one thing I enjoy most about working with Alex. The value that he has brought to the team has been bar-none, and he has created more impact than any of us could have imagined.”
“His positive attitude, collaborative nature and commitment to getting things done has made him a trusted and valued member of our team.”